Second Chances
by liz88zil
Summary: Theresa is really shaking up Ryan's world. Can he realize what she's doing before Marissa is gone forever? RM and comical relief by SS. Complete and worth reading!
1. Default Chapter

Second Chances  
  
Seth Cohen sat stood near his closet, listening to his records while he was trying to figure out what to wear. He heard a knock at his door and yelled, "Come in" Ryan walked over to Seth and slapped his shoulder with what appeared to be a couple of tickets. "What are you doing?" Ryan asked Seth who was looking himself up and down in the mirror. "Trying to decide whether to go with a shirt or sweater, you see if I'm too hot, than my fro is gonna go Screech on me, but if I'm very unpleasant when I'm cold." Ryan stared at Seth blankly, "Yeah, well...hurry up, I just got us two tickets to go to a hockey game, it starts at 7:30 so you gotta hurry." Seth looked up at Ryan, "what like a date?" "Yeah, exactly." Ryan replied sarcastically. "Sorry man, I thought you knew that I'm into girls. Why don't you go ahead and give Luke's dad a call. Actually, I personally think you may even have a decent shot with Luke. Seriously though, I have plans with Summer tonight." "You? Plans on a Friday night?! Since when?" "Oh since I got me a lady friend." Seth replied slyly. "Great," Ryan replied, "I actually would have taken Luke, except that he's gone now." "Well man, its not like you don't have any ladies that you could bring" "Yeah, who? Theresa?? The girl that is pregnant, maybe with my child? Or Marissa, who I don't even know if I'm dating anymore since she found out about Theresa?" "Wait," Seth stopped Ryan from his ranting, "You don't even know if you guys are still together?" "Nah, I haven't talked to her since we got back from Vegas. And Theresa and I have been avoiding each other, at least until she knows for sure that shes....well..." "Yeah, I got it. Well look man, you really do have a lot on your mind, so I guess if you want, I can cancel with Summer and we can have some Seth- Ryan time." "No, thanks, but you have fun with Summer, but I guess I really should go talk to Marissa...or Theresa...either one." "You sure?" Seth asked, not wanting to leave Ryan depressed. "Yeah, but thanks man." "Alright, I'll catch you later." Seth ran out of his room, not wanting to be late for Summer. Ryan plopped down on Seth's bed, and rubbed his face with his hands. Just then he heard a car outside and lifted his head to see out the window. Marissa was getting out of her dad's car and going into her mom's house. Ryan watched Marissa fumble for her key, how could he have let this situation get so screwed up? He knew that he wanted to be with Marissa, but this whole thing with Theresa wasn't the sort of thing you could ignore. He let out a deep sigh and headed next door to talk to Marissa. 


	2. Plans for summer

Chapter 2  
  
Ryan approached the Cooper's gigantic door slowly, not sure if he wanted to be doing this. He made a mistake by sleeping with Theresa, a mistake that he couldn't take back, and one with serious consequences. He and Marissa had been through so much, and he just hoped that they could handle this. He edged to the door, but before he could knock, it swung open and out struggled Marissa carrying several boxes and a stuffed animal in her mouth. When Marissa saw Ryan standing in front of her, she dropped the stuffed animal into her box and stammered... "Hey...I uh, I just had to get the rest of my stuff." Ryan looked down, "Oh...ok, uh...do you want any help, I" Marissa cut him off, "No, that's really ok, I'm sure you have your hands full enough with Theresa" Marissa turned to go back into the house, leaving her boxes on the porch, but Ryan grabbed her elbow. Marissa spun around and looked at Ryan, "Ryan! What do you want? I think you've done enough already!" Marissa glared at Ryan, she was angry with him, she wanted to be mad at him! Ryan looked down at the ground and then back up at Marissa, "I was uh... I just wanted to talk about....I mean," Ryan sighed and took a deep breath, "Do you want to go to a hockey game with me?"  
  
Seth pulled up in Summer's driveway and saw her sitting on her porch. Seth waved to her, but Summer motioned for him to get out of the car and come to her. Seth looked confused, but got out of his mom's Range Rover and walked over to Summer. "Hey," Seth said, obviously confused, "What's going on? I mean, I know that it's not the most gentlemanly thing to wave from your car, but the movie's gonna start soon, and the other viewers can get very cross if you walk in after the previews start!" Summer walked over to Seth and covered his mouth, "Cohen, shut up!" Summer smiled and continued, "I just didn't feel like going to a movie tonight, I'm worried about Ryan and Marissa!" Seth sighed, and put his arm around Summer's neck. "I know, everything got really screwed up didn't it?" Summer nodded as she sat next to Seth and leaned on his shoulder. "I mean, they were finally getting normal! They got past Luke and Oliver. I thought there drama was over!" "Yeah," Seth agreed, "I was really looking forward to this summer being about us four. But you know, what if Ryan and Marissa had a little help getting back together?!" Summer looked back at Seth, "You mean, like you and me play match maker or something?" Seth nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I think that all they need is a little help finding each other again!" Summer looked reluctant, "I don't know Cohen, it's not like this was a small little argument, I mean Ryan may be the father of Theresa's baby!" Seth nodded, yeah, I know...but right now, they're avoiding each other, if they just spend some time together, they'll wanna be back together." Summer smiled, "It's definitely worth a shot, I want this summer to be perfect! Coop isn't doing anything tonight, what's Ryan up to?" "He's so desperate for entertainment that he would have hung out with Luke!" Summer laughed, "Ok, lets go hang out at your place, I'll school you in PS2" "Yeah, maybe, if by "school" you mean lose and start to cry!" "Shut up! I only did that once!" The couple laughed and got into the car. 


	3. Not such fun games

Thanks for all the reviews! I know that a lot of you have been complaining about how its hard to read, I'll try to fix it, but it keeps changing to paragraph form. Sorry! P.S. I don't own any of the characters.....(yet).  
  
Marissa looked back at Ryan blankly. "Did you just ask me to go to a hockey game with you?"  
Ryan looked slightly embarrassed, "Well, yeah, you see...I had an extra ticket and I just figured that it would be cool if you could go." Marissa looked away, tears starting to fill her eyes, "I'm guessing this is your not-so-subtle way of telling me that you just want to be friends? I mean, a hockey game?! That's not exactly the kind of place where we used to go. Fine Ryan, we can be friends, and you can go back to Theresa and have a family. But, to answer your question, no, I do not want to go to a hockey game with you. I can't believe-"  
Ryan quickly grabbed Marissa towards him and kissed her. Their faces stood close together even after their lips had separated. Ryan breathed heavily and said, "No Marissa, I don't just want to be your friend. I want to be your boyfriend again."  
Marissa smiled and kissed Ryan again, "well...way to stop me before I made a fool of myself. Oh, and there is still no chance that I'm going to a hockey game with you. Hockey sucks." Ryan smiled and kissed Marissa once more, "Fine then, if that's what you want, I guess we can just go over to my place...where we'll be lonely, since nobody's home." Marissa grinned and led the way to the Cohen house.  
  
"I don't care how you played at camp when you were eleven Summer, there is no such thing as 'dynamite' in 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'. It tells you the possible options right in the title! I won fair and square, so we get to play my favorite PS2 game."  
"But Cohen," Summer complained, but she stopped in her tracks and gawked when she looked ahead and saw Ryan and Marissa making out on the couch.  
"Wow," Seth started, "I know that I'm the brains of all our operations, but I never thought that our plan was going to work this fast Summer!"  
Marissa and Ryan broke apart a bit embarrassed of being caught. Ryan pulled his knees up to his chest and said, "I thought you said you were gonna be out Seth."  
Seth was grinning and said, "Yeah, well we decided to come home and try to get you guys back together, but I don't think you need much help. But since were here, Summer here is going to attempt to beat me in my favorite PS2 game. You should stay and watch, it could be comical, she may start to cry."  
Summer hit Seth in the stomach and sqealed, "so Coop, are you guys officially back together?!"  
Marissa blushed and glanced at Ryan who shrugged, "Yeah, I guess we are" she confirmed.  
"All right!" Seth exclaimed, "Finally operation Maryether is back on!" The other three stared at Seth blankly. "Oh come on!" Seth exclaimed, "Marissa-Ryan-Seth-Summer. Geez guys, I thought you would have picked up on that!" Simultaneously, the three turned their heads away from Seth.

"Anyways," started Ryan, "so Summer, you're going to try to beat Seth at the Ninja game?!" Summer shook her head, "No, Seth said his favorite game, which is Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4." 

Now it was Ryan's turn to shake his head, "No, Seth thinks that Pro Skater has the best graphics, but he likes the Ninja game better." 

"Are you saying that you know Seth better than me?!" Summer asked Ryan. 

"Hey, I never said that! All I'm saying is that the Ninja game is Seth's favorite game." 

Seth and Marissa turned their heads back and forth from Ryan and Summer both extremely amused by the confrontation. Suddenly, Marissa said, "Hey I have a better idea than playing either one of those dumb games." 

"Hey!" exclaimed Seth, "those are great games!" 

Marissa rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well how about we see who knows each other better, the boyfriend/girlfriend, or the best friend. So, like, I'll make up 10 questions to ask about Seth and we'll see who gets more right Summer or Ryan, Seth can be the judge. We can do it for all of us!" 

Seth and Summer's eyes lit up instantly. "Yeah, ok." They agreed. Ryan rolled his eyes, "are you sure that its not gonna piss people off when they lose?" 

Marissa sighed, "Ryan, relax, I don't really care if you don't know every little thing about me, ok? So lets play!"  
The four all separated and wrote 10 questions each. Marissa wrote questions for Seth, Ryan wrote questions for Summer, Summer wrote questions for Ryan, and Seth wrote questions for Marissa. "

Ok," Summer declared, since she was the last to finish. "Who should we ask about first?" When nobody answered right away, "Lets finish what we started, Marissa will you ask us about Seth?" 

Marissa asked the first question, "What is Seth's favorite food?" Ryan looked around the house, "umm....oh! Pudding!" 

Summer looked over at Ryan and laughed, "Pudding?! Try Lucky Charms!" 

Seth swallowed and guarded himself from being hit, "actually Summer, it is pudding." Ryan looked triumphantly over at Summer who threw a pillow at his face, "fine, next question she demanded."  
  
Over the course of that game, Summer made a slight comeback, but still lost to Ryan 4-6. She moped for a moment, until Seth kissed her saying, "I lied about all the answers just so that Ryan wouldn't cry". 

Summer knew that Seth didn't lie about any of the answers, but she smiled and kissed him anyways. Then they asked who knew Summer better, Marissa or Seth. Marissa kicked Seth's ass, winning 8-2. 

Seth approached Summer, "you probably lied about your answers too, right?" Summer shook her head laughing and gave Seth a kiss. 

Then they moved on to who knew Marissa better, Summer or Ryan. Summer won that game 7-3 and flaunted it as much as possible. 

Finally it came time to see who knew Ryan better, Marissa or Seth. Summer asked the first question, "What is Ryan's favorite color?" 

Marissa and Seth thought about it, and then Seth said, "wait a minute, I thought Ryan was color blind! That would explain the wife beaters and gray clothes!" 

Marissa laughed and then answered, "I don't know, black? You do wear a lot of black." 

"Actually, its orange." Said a voice from the kitchen. Theresa came in wearing her bakery uniform and continued, "Orange reminds Ryan of Halloween, his favorite holiday."  
The group became silent and looked at Ryan who shrugged, but nodded. 

Seth burst out laughing, but Marissa tilted her head slightly and said, "Theresa, why don't you come and join us!" "Oh, that's ok, I'm pretty wiped." 

"Yeah," Ryan agreed eagerly, "I'm sure that you've had a long day." "

Oh come on," Marissa insisted, "You should play this game, it's a lot of fun." 

Theresa stared at Ryan for a moment, and then said, "ok, I will play. Who am I challenging?" 

"Me and Seth" Marissa said a little more coldly than she had meant. 

"Pshh, consider me disqualified." Said Seth, realizing that things were about to get heated. "Well, then I guess its just you and me." Marissa stated Theresa nodded. 

"I don't really think that this game is very fun". Ryan said Marissa and Theresa both stared at Ryan and Theresa took a seat on a chair.  
  
Summer cleared her throat and looked around, "ok, I guess that makes 'one' for Theresa. Second question, "Who is Ryan's favorite band?" 

Marissa pondered for a moment, but then smiled, "He doesn't have one. Ryan's not really into music." 

Theresa laughed, "Did he say that he wasn't in to music? Well, lets remind Ryan of all of 8th grade when he wouldn't come out of his room until he learned every single guitar riff to every Journey song out there. Journey is his favorite band." 

Ryan looked down and covered his face with his hands, but he also nodded. 

Marissa looked away, embarrassed. Summer cleared her throat again, 

"ok...um, I guess that makes two for Theresa. Number three, what's Ryan's favorite class in school?" 

Marissa tried not to get over confident, but she knew this one, "English," she answered boldly, "Ryan likes to read," 

Theresa sighed, "yeah, he does like to read." Marissa smiled triumphantly. Theresa continued, "but not as much as he likes building cars. Ryan loved shop class." 

Ryan looked up, "Yeah, well, Marissa couldn't have known that, they don't offer Shop at Harbor." "

But, Shop is your favorite class?" Summer questioned. When Ryan nodded she mentally noted another point for Theresa. "Ok, question four, what is Ryan's favorite movie." 

Marissa was trying to stop tears from forming in her eyes, but she answered anyway, "Master and Commander". 

Theresa smiled and said, "I'm pretty sure it's "The Great Pumpkin". You know, the Charlie Brown special. Ever since Ryan was Snoopie, he's loved Charlie Brown." 

The whole group looked at Ryan, silently begging him to disagree with Theresa. When he didn't answer Theresa said, "Hey, I've known Ryan since I was four, and it just comes naturally." 

Marissa stared at Theresa refusing to cry in front of her, "Yeah, you guys know everything about each other. Well, I hate to break up the party, but I've gotta go." Marissa stood up quickly and walked out of the living room, but then she broke into a run. 

The other four looked after her for a second before Ryan stood up and shouted, "Marissa, wait!" and then he ran after her.  
Seth, Summer, and Theresa sat around in silence until Theresa broke the silence, "Was it something I said?" 


	4. Decisions

Thanks for the reviews! I do not own any characters. How do I accept anonymous reviews?  
  
Ryan was out of breath when he finally caught up with Marissa. "Marissa, come on, stop!" Ryan pleaded as he reached out to grab Mariss's arm.  
Marissa spun around, "Ryan! Just go be with her! You guys have a history, you know everything about each other! Oh, and she could be having your child! Just turn around and go be with her. It makes more sense!"  
Ryan stared at her for a minute before saying, "You're right. It does make more sense for me to be with Theresa! I mean, we grew up together, and I guess you could say that with this baby, we could even be a family!"  
Marissa stared at Ryan shocked, "Ok then....I guess you made your decision...I'll uh...see you around?" Marissa began to storm off confused with Ryan, but Ryan stopped her.  
"Wait, I forgot one detail, I don't want to be with her! I want you! Of course Theresa knows everything about me! I grew up with her! After I spend the next 17 years with you, you'll know everything about me!"  
Marissa sighed, "But its so complicated now!"  
"Now it's complicated?" Ryan asked her, "So when Luke was beating my ass every day it wasn't complicated? Or when you ODed in Mexico...that wasn't complicated? All the crap with Oliver wasn't complicated? But now that Theresa's here its complicated? Come on Marissa don't give up now!"  
Marissa stared blankly at Ryan briefly before breaking into a smile and throwing her arms around him. She sighed as she put her head on his shoulder, "I really thought Master and Commander was your favorite movie!"  
Ryan smiled, "I never saw it!"  
Marissa looked at him intently, "Yes you did! We went to see it together before New Years!"  
"No, we went to the movie, and you watched it, but I spent most of the time watching you."  
Marissa smiled and whispered, "Very smooth Snoopie" before leaning in and kissing him.  
The couple was inturuppted shortly, Theresa cleared her throat loudly, "Sorry to break this up, but Ryan, could I talk to you alone for a minute?"  
Ryan looked at Marissa, not wanting to upset her. Marissa looked at Theresa and reluctantly smiled. "Actually I should probably go see Seth and Summer anyways so why don't you guys talk."  
Ryan and Theresa went into the pool house and Theresa began, "So listen, I went to the doctor today, and I'm definitely pregnant."  
Ryan closed his eyes slowly and nodded, he partially thought that it was all fake, but he wasn't surprised with the news. "What do you want to do?" he asked gently.  
"I know that I have to have this baby. I want it. So, I called Eddy today and told him that I was pregnant."  
Ryan was surprised, "how'd he take it?"  
"Really well, until I told him that I wasn't sure whether it's his or yours. After that, he called me a slut and said he didn't want anything to do with me or my baby, even if it is his."  
"He what?!" Ryan asked in awe.  
"And the reason its so scary, is because he meant it! Ryan, my baby's not going to have a dad!" Theresa sat down on the bed and began to cry.  
"Hey," Ryan comforted her gently, "That's not true! I am going to be a part of this baby's life!"  
"Ryan, it's not the same!" Theresa cried, "you live here now! You go to freaking Beverly Hills high school! What are you going to do? Send me child support with the Cohen's money?"  
"What do you want me to do!?"  
"I want you to come with me!"  
Ryan stood silently, he knew that this was the whole reason Theresa had come back.  
"Ryan, you're different than the rest of the guys in Chino. You aren't going to end up in prison or killed! I want that kind of good influence in my child's life! But, I don't think that I can ask you to give up all of this, you are so happy!"  
"You're right," Ryan agreed, "I am happy, but this baby shouldn't end up like everybody else." Ryan looked down at the ground, but then looked up at Theresa, he quietly said, "Yes Theresa, I will go with you".  
Theresa smiled and hugged Ryan tightly and whispered, "I have to leave on Wednesday."  
Ryan backed away, that meant he'd only have one more full day here. He stared at Theresa .  
"That's not a problem is it?" Theresa asked.  
"No, of course not," Ryan lied, "But I'm sure you want some sleep, and I'm going to go back inside."  
Theresa nodded, visably upset about not being invited back into the house, but Ryan didn't care. He wanted to savor every second of his time in Newport, and he couldn't do that with Theresa around. 


	5. countdown till Maryether

Thanks for all the reviews!! I don't own any characters.  
  
Ryan sighed as he entered the Cohen house. How was he going to do this? Marissa jumped up to greet him, "hey, what was that about?" she asked, referring to Theresa's and Ryan's conversation.  
"Oh, nothing really," Ryan said quickly, "But guys, I think Seth had a good idea for once with the whole, Operation Maryether. I think we should start it tomorrow and the four of us will spend all day together, hanging out or whatever."  
Seth leaped over to Ryan and slapped him on the back, "You have been converted!"  
Marissa and Summer giggled and agreed. "What time should we meet up tomorrow?" asked Summer.  
"I don't know, 11?" answered Ryan.  
Seth shook his head, "I have a better idea. It's already after midnight so....." he tossed a pillow and blanket to Ryan and Marissa, and pulled Summer closer to him. "Good night". He finished.  
The whole group smiled, "and your parents won't care when they wake up and see us all sleeping together?" asked Marissa.  
Well, theres nothing like anxiety about teen orgies in the living room to get their ol' tickers pumping again." Seth replied as he settled in on the couch.  
Marissa smiled as Ryan pulled her closer and the whole group settled down to sleep.  
  
Theresa entered the kitchen shortly before nine the next morning before leaving for her last day at the bakery. When she saw the two very content couples asleep on the couches, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty about breaking that apart. She willed herself to ignore that, reminding herself that in less than 24 hours, Ryan would be back in Chino, with her, where they belonged.  
Just then, Sandy and Kirsten entered the kitchen and smiled at Theresa, but then they noticed the four sleeping teenagers. Kirsten's mouth dropped in awe and she looked to see Sandy's reaction. Sandy broke into a grin and said, "Hon, do you realize that the same son of ours who talks to a plastic horse, is currently having a better sex life than me?!"  
Then it was Kirsten's turn to break into a grin and she hit Sandy in the stomach, "Seriously Sandy, what should we do?"  
"Make them breakfast!" he replied eagerly, "but I'll do all the cooking. Theresa, what would you like?" Theresa smiled at the Cohens, but she turned them down, "Sorry Mr. Cohen, but I really have to get to work. Thanks anyways, I'll talk to you tonight." Kirsten waved goodbye to Theresa who was heading out the door, and then turned back to the dozing teens. She couldn't help smile as she saw Seth's arm wrapped tightly around Summer, and Ryan's around Marissa. They had come so far since the beginning of the year, she never thought that Ryan would fill a void in her life that she didn't even knew she had.  
All of a sudden, Sandy picked up an orange that was sitting in a basket on the counter, and threw it at Seth's head. "Son of a-" Seth replied sleepily, rubbing his head. With his movement, Summer also arouse. "Where am I?" She questioned while yawning, but then looked around and saw Seth stared back at her. "Oh yeah," Summer said again as she let her head drop to the pillow again.  
"Seriously though," Seth continued, "What the hell was that?" Seth looked around and grinned when he saw his parents staring wide eyed back at him. "Oh, hey guys. Uh...Surprise?" Seth asked and his parents couldn't help but smile.  
"Ok," Said Kirsten, "Party's over guys." She gently tapped Ryan with her foot. When Ryan refused to wake, Seth hurled the ball at his head." Ryan went to rub his head where the orange had hit him, but he accidentally elbowed Marissa in the face. Marissa groaned and Ryan looked shocked to find out that she was there. Seth and his parents were laughing while Summer hid underneath her pillow to block out the sound. It took Marissa and Ryan a minute to figure out what was going on, but then Ryan sheepishly grinned, "Oh, hey Sandy, Kirsten. Uh, sorry about this....we fell asleep."  
Sandy laughed, "Yeah, we figured. Ok guys, now that everybody is up, who wants pancakes?" The group looked at each other unsure of what to say, "And, they were made by me, not Kirsten" Sandy said reassuringly. The group smiled and all agreed to have some.  
  
"So," started Summer, "What are we going to do today? Will I have to shower, because I don't really want to."  
"Well," answered Seth, "Why don't we hit the beach for a little while, high tide is in about an hour. After that we can go to 'Ride n Slide', it probably won't be crowded since its early in the summer."  
"What's 'Ride n Slide'?" asked Ryan looking up from his pancakes.  
"Its pretty cool actually," mumbled Marissa, her mouth full of pancakes, "It's basically a bunch of rides and then you can go paint balling, and mini golfing. I think they have go karts too."  
"Yeah, that sounds awesome!" agreed Summer eagerly. "For dinner we can grab a meal at the Lobster Shack on the pier!"  
"Hey Ryan, don't you work there?" asked Seth, looking up from his meal.  
"Actually, I'm not really sure," answered Ryan, "I guess so, but the last time I worked was before Tijuana."  
Marissa became a little quiet. She didn't like to be reminded of Tijuana. Her life was so messed up then, everything was good now, so there was no reason to think about TJ. Ryan gave Marissa's hand a little squeeze underneath the table and Marissa smiled at him. "Ok, so Summer to answer your question, I don't think you'll have to shower if we go to the beach first." Seth answered, trying to catch dripping syrup from his fork with his tongue. "But why don't we finish this and then get going." Seth suggested taking another heeping bite.  
"Cohen, you're a pig."  
"But an adorable pig right?"  
Summer smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "Yeah, an adorable pig."  
  
Ok, I know that chapter didn't have anything really exciting in it. It was basically just a set up chapter, but I update everyday...or maybe even more than that, so RELAX!! 


	6. last supper

As always, thanks for the reviews! I don't own any characters. MAKE SURE YOU STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTERS 7 AND 8. THEY WILL BE AWESOME!!  
  
The four hit the beach around 10:15. Summer and Marissa immediately threw down their towels and laid down to tan. Seth shook his head as he grabbed his surfboard from the car and sprinted into the waves. Ryan paused for a moment and took a look at the ocean. He had only been to the ocean once before he came to Newport. He couldn't bare to think about everything he was leaving.  
"Ryan, are you coming?" shouted Marissa from the sand. Ryan snapped out of his daydreaming and nodded and smiled at Marissa. He pulled off his wife beater and said, "I'm only going in the water if you go." Marissa laughed, "Well then I guess you're not going in the water." "Oh really?" questioned Ryan as she scooped Marissa up from the ground and carried her to the water. Marissa squealed with laughter as they hit the water and Summer hurried in after them. The four swam in the water for about an hour before calling it quits and heading out to get changed. Marissa and Summer showered quickly in the public bathroom, (which isn't as gross as it seems, I mean, it is Newport) while Ryan and Seth waited impatiently outside.  
"So man, you amped about going to the amusement park?" Seth asked Ryan. "Oh, so amped". Ryan said mockingly. "Ok, were ready", declared Summer and they all climbed into the Range Rover.  
  
When the reached Ride an' Slide Ryan was shocked by what he saw. By the description, it had sounded like a regular, cheap amusement park, but everyway he turned the rides and roller coasters seemed to get taller and steeper. Ryan looked around, his fear of heights entering his mind. "Ok, what first?!" Marissa asked excitedly. "Lets hit the big coasters first and then we can move on to the paint balls and go karting." The group agreed and headed towards the 'Poltergiest'. They spent about an hour circling all the big coasters before they were ready to move on. "To the paint ball field!" Seth declared throwing his hand up in the air and leading the way. Summer laughed and caught up with him while Ryan and Marissa held back and walked together. "Hey, you ok today? You seem a little weird." Marissa asked Ryan concerned. Of course he was weird! Ryan thought to himself. How was he supposed to have one of the best days of his life and then leave it all behind the next day?! "Oh, I'm fine" Ryan answered, "You know how I am with heights." Marissa smiled and put her arm around his waist. "Oh, well...there we can stay on the ground for paint balling. But, if you shoot the gun really well, I'll have some questions about your past."  
Ryan smiled. "Please, I'm sure that paint ball guns are very different from the kind I've used. Hey, I'm kidding!" Ryan reassured Marissa, seeing her shocked expression. "You'd better be" Marissa warned.  
  
Oddly enough, Seth dominated the paint ball game, doubling the points of all the rest. Summer came in last place and wasn't very happy with her performance, "Hey," Seth comforted her, "believe it or not, it doesn't really bother me that you have little gun shooting ability. You're rage black outs scare me enough!" Summer smiled at Seth as they headed over to the go karts.  
They went on the go karts twice, and Marissa won both times. Seth gawked at her as they exited the track, "Marissa, I had no idea you have so much road rage!" Marissa smiled, "What can I say, I'm an angry girl!"  
  
Although the group was having an amazing time together, they were tired and decided it was time to go home and catch some dinner at the lobster shack. Ryan continuously got quieter on the ride home, and his stomach was in knots by the time they sat down at their table. He had told his mother he was moving out and he had visited his brother in prison, but he had never been this nervous. He was about to tell the only real friends he had that he was leaving with his pregnant ex-girlfriend. He shoved his food around his plate, but he hardly ate anything. "Man, you don't have to spare the lobster....it's already dead." Seth said noticing Ryan's behavior. "Actually guys, I have to tell you something." Ryan declared looking back and forth between Seth and Marissa. The other three exchanged nervous glances at Ryan's sudden seriousness. They were all silent so that he would continue, "Ok, well Theresa found out from the doctor yesterday that she is in fact pregnant. She talked to me yesterday and told me that she wants to have this baby."  
Marissa swallowed hard and closed her eyes. No, this wasn't happening. Ryan was hers now. Theresa had her chance. When nobody said anything Ryan swallowed and continued, "She also called Eddy yesterday to let him know. When she told him that she wasn't sure who the father was, he basically told her that he never wanted to see her again and he didn't want anything to do with this baby."  
Summer grabbed Seth's hand under the table, seeing the very scared look in his eyes. Nobody knew where this conversation was headed, but it wasn't leading to good news.  
"Despite of who the father is, this baby deserves a good life. Theresa wants the baby to have a dad. She feels that I would be a good influence on this baby because I'm not going to end up in prison." Ryan swallowed and looked into Marissa's eyes where tears were beginning to form. "She asked me to go with her to Chino. I said yes." Tears started spilling down Marissa's cheeks. She couldn't believe it! Didn't she mean anything to Ryan? Summer glanced at Seth who sat still, numb to her comforting gestures. Ryan was unsure of what to say. The silence was overwhelming, so he continued, "This baby can have a chance to live a good life, if he has a good start. I don't want Theresa to just hook up with a guy because he can afford a child. Not everybody gets as lucky as I did. I can't just ignore this and hope that a Cohen family takes in this kid too!"  
Summer was the first to move. She threw her arms around Ryan's neck, "Were going to miss you Chino. You brought us so much, you gave me more than you think." As she glanced at Seth and smiled. "Besides, it's not like you're going to be gone forever right? You'll be back, to visit all the time!"  
Ryan nodded, and hugged Summer back, glancing at the crying Marissa and the emotionless Seth. Seth finally spoke, "Yeah, you'll visit. I'm sure I'll see you around." Seth talked coldly, pretending he didn't care. Ryan nodded slowly, wanting Seth to say more. Marissa interrupted the silence by crying out, "So this whole day was just a way to say goodbye?!" Ryan looked at her surprised, "I wanted to be able to look back and remember that my last day here was fun!" Marissa wiped her eyes and glared at Ryan, "Why did you put so much effort into getting back together with me when you were just going to leave?! Not being with you is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and you deliberately put me through the process of losing you!" Ryan took Marissa's hand forcefully, "Marissa, do you think I want to leave?! Today was one of the best days of my life! I'm so happy here! But I'm not leaving for me, and I'm not leaving for Theresa, I'm leaving for this baby!"  
Marissa didn't want to understand why he had to leave. If she understood, then she couldn't be mad. If she couldn't be mad at Ryan, then she would have to deal with the pain she was feeling. She sighed and looked Ryan in the eye, "I'll love you even if you're gone." Ryan smiled, "I love you too." 


	7. goodbyes and good reasons

Hey guys!! Thanks for all the reviews! And thanks you for keeping updated with the story even though some of the chapters were a little sketchy. I promise that it will get exciting!! I own nothing of the OC. (Until I marry either Adam Brody or Josh Schwarz).  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Ryan hadn't gotten any sleep by the time Theresa woke him up the next morning. He just kept replaying the events of last night. The ride home from the lobster shack was painful enough. Nobody said anything the entire ride, and Seth and Marissa refused to make eye contact with Ryan. It was even more painful for Ryan to think about his conversation with the Cohen's he had later that night. Nobody had ever been so upset about him leaving before. Kirsten cried and hugged him; she acted as if he were her own son. Sandy was the only person who understood why Ryan had to leave. Sandy was sad to see Ryan go, but he knew that Ryan had no choice. Seth hadn't said practically anything after they got home; he just said a quick goodbye to Ryan and went straight to his room. Ryan wanted to talk to Seth, but he wasn't going to push it if Seth didn't want to talk to him. The most painful thing that was burned in Ryan's head forever was his goodbye with Marissa. He walked her to her door, and when he leaned in to kiss her she pulled away sharply. "Don't" she had muttered bitterly, "You can't. You're leaving tomorrow and I don't know how to say goodbye to you, so I'm just going to do it." Marissa took a deep breath and fought away the tears forming in her eyes, "Goodbye Ryan, I'll never forget you." Ryan stared at Marissa unaware of what to do. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, and to tell her that if he could he would stay with her forever. Instead he hugged her tightly and whispered, "Thank you for everything you have given me. I love you." Marissa turned her head away from him, and tried to hide her tears. She whispered, "You should go now Ryan." Ryan was pulled out of his reminiscing by Theresa's cheerful voice, "Hey Ryan, you ready to go??"  
Ryan pulled himself up from his laying position and looked around his room for the last time. He sighed, "Yeah, I think I am." Ryan picked up his backpack and jacket; he was thrown back to how he had come into the Cohen's world.  
Theresa smiled at him, "It'll be good to get home right?" Ryan silently nodded, knowing that he wasn't going home, he had just left home.  
  
Marissa woke up early the next morning, and she realized that he had to say goodbye to Ryan. She was being selfish last night, and she knew that they both needed to say goodbye. She quickly put on a bathrobe and flip flops and ran next door. She breathlessly ran into the pool house and was crushed when she saw the empty room. She crumbled on the bed. How could she have missed her chance?! "No!" she told herself quietly, "Maybe he hadn't left yet! Maybe he was inside eating breakfast or saying goodbye!" She ran into the Cohen kitchen without knocking and frantically looked around. The Cohen's appeared to have already left for work and the kitchen was silent. She sat down at their kitchen table and put her head in her hands. She couldn't believe that he was gone!  
"Marissa?!" Seth asked from the hallway.  
Marissa looked up and Seth saw the tears running down her cheeks. "Oh, hey...you're crying." Seth observed. Marissa put her head in her hands once more and Seth heard her mumble, "I should have said goodbye." Seth sat down at the table beside her, "believe me, I know how you feel. I didn't say goodbye to Ryan either." Marissa looked up, she hadn't really thought about how much Ryan's absence would affect Seth as well.  
"What are you going to do about it?" Marissa asked Seth.  
Seth didn't say anything for a moment, "I guess I'll just have to say goodbye to you instead."  
"What?" Marissa asked, "How will that make up for anything?"  
"I'm leaving." Seth said blankly. "For the summer that is, I'm going to Tahiti."  
"Seth, why?!"  
"Ryan was my only real friend that isn't made of plastic. There isn't enough reason to stay now." Marissa actually understood why Seth had to leave. She knew that although there would be some people sad to see him go, he had to do this for himself. "Well then, goodbye Seth, is there anything you want before you go?"  
"Actually," started Seth, "would you mind giving this letter to Summer the next time you see her? It explains everything that I can't say."  
Marissa nodded and took the envelope from his hands. Seth looked at Marissa and said a quiet, "Thanks, I guess I'll see you before school." "Yeah," agreed Marissa. "If not sooner." Then she slipped out the kitchen door.  
  
The scenery was beginning to look familiar to Ryan once again, which said that they were nearing "home." Theresa looked over at him excitedly, "Ryan, I promise things will be good again. We can have a family." Ryan took a deep breath, he wasn't ready to be a family, but he just slowly nodded. As they pulled up to Theresa's house she smiled broadly, "Were finally home." Ryan looked around his old neighborhood, disappointed that it was exactly how he had remembered it. "Ryan, I actually picked up a few hours today at the salon and then I have to run to the store. I mean, we need all the money we can get right?" asked Theresa hopefully. Ryan gave Theresa a half smile, "Yeah, that's fine. It's not like I can't find something to do here. I mean, I only lived here." Theresa smiled briefly, but then her smile disappeared and she said, "Ryan, please don't go talk to Eddy. I just want to forget about him. I know you and things would get heated, and violent. I don't want that. If you and Eddy got in a fight, it would just upset everyone, so please, stay here and out of trouble!" Theresa pleaded with Ryan with her eyes.  
Ryan stared at Theresa before saying, "Fine I won't go talk to Eddy." "Thank you!" Theresa said, before giving Ryan a quick hug. "Now get out of the car so I can go make millions."  
As soon as Theresa left Ryan started to walk to the auto shop where Eddy worked. He had to talk to Eddy no matter how Theresa felt about it. He had beaten her, possibly gotten her pregnant, and now basically told her to drop dead. He had a few things to say to Eddy.  
  
Seth had packed his bags last night as soon as they got home from dinner. He picked them up and headed down to the dock. He slowly began to load up his ship. He hoped that Marissa would give that letter to Summer soon; he didn't want her to think he took off without saying anything. Once he had loaded his bags and some non perishable food in the cargo area he took a last look at Newport. "I think I have everything," Seth spoke quietly to himself. "No you don't." said a voice from behind him. Seth spun around to find Marissa standing there with a bag full of clothes. "Marissa! What are you doing here?!" "For someone so quick witted, I thought you would have figured it out. I'm going with you Seth. I have to." "I'm sorry, what??" asked Seth astonished that the teen queen of Harbor wanted to spend two months at sea with him. "I lost Ryan too, and I need to get away. I can't be around these people right now. I don't want to spend this summer drinking and partying." "What about Summer??" asked Seth, "We can't both leave her here!" "I wrote a second note for Summer, I told her why I had to go, and that I would miss her. But Summer has all of her other friends to turn to! She can have an awesome summer partying." Seth stared at Marissa knowing that what she said was true, part of the reason he was leaving was because he didn't want to prevent her from having a good time this summer. He quickly came up with other reasons why Marissa shouldn't go with him, "Well, um...the boat is really tiny, and there wouldn't be any privacy." "Seth, I don't really care! I want to get away, so if I have to change my top, then you can turn around for a minute!!" "Well...what about your parents?!" "My parents?! Please, my dad has Hailey and he wants all the privacy he can get, and excuse me for not wanting to be around my mom and new step dad." Seth tried to come up with another reason why Marissa shouldn't go with him, but he couldn't. He knew that Marissa needed this trip just as much as he did. If she were by herself this summer it would be so easy for her to fall into her bad habits of drinking and ODing. Seth glanced at Marissa one last time and sighed, "Do you get sea sick?" Marissa smiled broadly, "Of course not!" Seth shook his head, "Ok hurry up and get on the boat before that person over there that I've never met before asks to go too. You know, one of those, "popes in a Volkswagen" things." Marissa smiled at Seth and started to pack her things securely to the boat.  
  
Ok, that's it for today. Hope you liked it, I'll update ASAP! 


	8. The truth

Hey guys, like always, reviews = no tears for Liz! Keep it up! I don't own shit. P.S read the summary. It says RM and SS, so STOP BUGGING ME ABOUT SETH AND MARISSA!! lol  
  
Summer stepped out on her porch, she was headed over to Marissa's to see if she wanted to go tanning. The first thing that caught her eye when she stepped out of her house were the two white envelopes lodged in the door. They both had "Summer" written on them, and she knew from the handwriting that one was from Marissa and the other from Seth. She curiously grabbed the envelopes and tore Seth's open first and began reading.  
  
Dear Summer,  
If you're reading this now, I'm probably already gone. I had to leave. When Ryan's gone, there isn't really much for me in Newport, except for you. Please Summer, don't feel like I don't care about you just because I'm leaving. I just needed to get away. I know that you can still have a good summer without me. I've sailed to Tahiti with Summer Breeze, so in a way, you will be there with me. Please don't be angry Summer, I love you. If you weren't a part of my life I wouldn't come back. But I will, I just need some time to figure stuff out. I know this may sound selfish, but please wait for me. I need you in my life. I love you and I'll see you soon. Goodbye Summer.  
Seth.  
Summer wiped the tears out of her eyes. Of course she would wait for Seth! She loved him, and she wouldn't compromise their relationship for some make out session with the water polo team. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he was leaving, but she knew that Ryan's absence affected Seth more than she knew. She took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry, and then she opened the letter from Marissa.  
  
Hey Sum,  
Weird stuff has happened this year. I think the weirdest was that I fell so in love with Ryan Atwood. Now that he's gone I feel so alone, even though I know that I will always have you. I went over to the Cohen's house this morning looking for him, and I found Seth instead. He told me of his plans to go to Tahiti, and I showed up at the dock and demanded to go with him. I guess if you're reading this, he said yes, and I'm probably sailing right now. I'm not sure if you can understand why I had to leave, but I think that it will help me deal with Ryan. The last thing you need to worry about is me and Seth. First of all, he really loves you, second of all, there is no way in hell I'd hook up with him! (No offense) I'm sorry that we both left you this summer, but I know that you still fit in with the school crowd. I love you Sum, and always will. I'm sorry about leaving, but I had no choice. If I stayed here, I know that I would have destroyed myself with the parties and drinking. Please don't be mad! We'll be home real soon.  
Love always, Marissa  
  
Summer stood stunned by what she had read. Seth and Marissa together, in Tahiti? That just didn't seem right. There was a tiny part of her that was jealous and worried. Marissa was beautiful, and it was just going to be them for 42 long days. There was however, a larger part of her that knew everything was going to be ok, it was just going to be a long uneventful summer without her two best friends.  
  
Ryan reached the auto shop in less than ten minutes. He walked directly up to the garage and found Eddy immidately. Eddy was bent over working on the engine of a beat up Honda. Ryan went up to him and grabbed his shoulder to reel him around.  
Eddy was surprised to see Ryan, but he was more surprised to see that Ryan was fuming. "Hey Ryan! What's going on?" Eddy asked slightly concerned.  
"Don't do that man," Ryan warned, "Don't act like you don't know why I'm here. You're lucky I don't hit you right now."  
"Ok Ryan, slow down. I really don't know what's going on!"  
"Eddy, drop the act!" Ryan shouted furiously, "I'm going to make this quick and you better not say anything to Theresa about me being here, because I told her I wasn't going to do this!"  
"Whoa, SLOW DOWN, you know where Theresa is?!" Ryan wasn't even listening to Eddy anymore, he was so angry that Eddy wouldn't confess! "What the hell are you doing man?! We could have you arrested you know, first you hit Theresa-" Eddy cut Ryan off quickly, "Ryan what the hell are you talking about?! I have never laid one hand on Theresa!"  
"Eddy stop playing with me!" Ryan commanded, "I saw her black eye, I know that you beat her! But then, you possibly get her pregnant and tell her to drop dead?!" It was taking all of his self control not to punch Eddy in the face.  
"Hold up Ryan, Theresa is pregnant?!" Eddy asked with an astonished face. This took Ryan by surprise. Why would Eddy lie about not knowing?! Theresa said that she called him! "No-no, stop pretending you don't know anything Eddy! Theresa told me she called you! She said that you never wanted to see her again!"  
"Listen man, Theresa took off about a month ago, I haven't seen her since! I swear to you, I did not hit her, and I did not get her pregnant!" Now Ryan was just confused. Was Eddy lying?! Why would Theresa say that she called him?! "I swear to God Eddy, if you're lying to me..."  
"I'm not lying! If Theresa's pregnant, I want to know! But first I want to know why she's saying that I hit her!!" Eddy was fuming now! He walked out of the garage and shouted, "I'm taking a break!" Eddy sat down on a bench and put his head in his hands. "Why would she do that?! All I ever did to Theresa was love her!" Eddy looked up at Ryan with tears forming in his eyes. His sadness quickly turned to anger as he got up and started to walk away from Ryan.  
"Where are you going?" shouted Ryan  
"I've got to talk to her! I need to know what she's been saying!" Ryan knew that he couldn't have stopped Eddy, nor did he want to. He was also quite curious to see what Theresa's story was.  
Ryan and Eddy got to Theresa's house quickly and they saw her entering her house with a bag of groceries. Ryan and Eddy barged into the kitchen after her.  
"I thought you said you had to work?!" Ryan asked suspiciously. Theresa wheeled around startled by her unexpected company, "Uh, I'm on my lunch hour. Ryan, I thought I asked you not to talk to Eddy!" Theresa asked frightened, looking back and forth between Ryan and Eddy.  
"Theresa what the hell have you been telling people?!" shouted Eddy.  
"I-uh..." Theresa stammered nervously and shifted the bag of groceries in her hands. By Theresa's silence Eddy knew that Theresa had said everything that Ryan told him. "Are you telling people that I hit you?! And now that I told you and your baby to drop dead!?" Eddy moved closer to Theresa threateningly. Ryan watched from the background unsure of what to do. "ARE YOU?!" asked Eddy again when Theresa didn't answer. "WHY THERESA?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" Eddy shouted angrily! He approached Theresa and with one swift motion he hit the bag of groceries out of her hands in frustration. Food flew everywhere! Eggs broke on the ground and a milk container broke open on the floor. Eddy was unaware of this mess, he stood still staring at Theresa. Ryan however noticed one item fly from the bag in particular. A square box had flown towards Ryan and landed in front of him. He approached the box slowly, and saw that it was a box of Playtex Tampons. Now, Ryan didn't know much about women, but he knew that if you're pregnant, you don't exactly need tampons. He picked up the box slowly and inturrepted Eddy's shouting.  
"Oh my God Theresa," Ryan started slowly as he held up the box for her and Eddy to see. "You're not pregnant are you?" 


	9. the rescue

I love reviews!! I don't own anything! (yet)  
  
"So I'm guessing that you were lying when you said you didn't get sea sick?" asked Seth as he was holding Marissa's hair back for her.  
Marissa didn't answer, just felt another wave of nausea and keeled over. When that had past, she gladly took a big sip of her water bottle and said, "Believe me Seth, I would rather be puking up my stomach on a boat with you rather than be in Newport with my mom and new step-dad." Seth put a hand over his heart and wiped away a fake tear, "I think that that is the most touching thing anybody has said to me!" Marissa gave Seth a "Shut up Seth, you're dumb" look. She sat back down on the boat and closed her eyes slowly. "What do you think Summer's doing right now? Do you think she already got our letters?"  
Seth became quiet at the sudden mention of Summer. "Yeah, she probably got them this morning. Do you really think she's going to go back to all of her old Harbor friends? I mean, I think she's changed. I don't think she'll want them again."  
Marissa looked at Seth hard for a moment, "You're in love with her aren't you?" she asked seriously.  
At first, Seth didn't know if he wanted to have this conversation with Marissa. I mean, were they even friends? But the more he thought about it, the more Marissa seemed like the perfect person to talk to. She was the only other person who knew Summer like he did. They both knew that Summer wasn't as materialistic and shallow as she came across. "Yeah, I am in love with her." Seth finally answered. "I never expected to be, its weird because she used to be a goddess to me, I could never have her, but she was perfect. Now, I notice that she has flaws, she's not perfect, but I love her more everyday."  
Marissa smiled at Seth, she was glad that he was with Summer. Summer had some how gotten the reputation of being a slut, and most guys just wanted to date her for that. She knew that Summer deserved the kind of relationship that Seth was giving her. "I'm not sure if she'll hang out with her old friends again. She definitely has changed."  
Marissa and Seth sat in silence for a while, not uncomfortable silence, their minds were full, thinking about the people they loved. After a few minutes Seth broke the silence, "You know that he loves you even though he left right?" Marissa nodded slowly and softly spoke, "I don't think I want to love him anymore." Seth looked up at Marissa concerned by the pain in her voice. "I don't think I can keep being hurt by him. It's not like I can just get over him like I did Luke. If I can't be with him than I don't want to have to sit around thinking about him!" Marissa's sorrow turned into anger, "It's not fair! How could he do this to me?" Marissa was well aware of how selfish she sounded, but it wasn't fair! She knew that Ryan wasn't going to Chino to be with Theresa but she got to be with him anyways! She dropped her head low and tried to blink away tears. She was so tired of crying!  
Seth stared at Marissa unsure of what he should do. He slowly moved towards her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Marissa he said softly, you can't just refuse to love Ryan. I know that you guys love each other. I don't know, call me a sucker because the good guy always wins in comic books, but I really think you guys are going to end up together."  
Marissa sniffed, "Thanks Seth." She was surprised at Seth's ability to be serious. Maybe Seth could be a better friend than she had thought.  
Seth and Marissa sat shoulder to shoulder watching the sunset on the horizon, both thinking about the people they loved.  
  
Ryan continued to stare at Theresa. When she didn't answer he demanded, "Theresa, answer me right now. Are you pregnant?" Theresa hung her head and her shoulders began to shake. She let out huge raking sobs that shook her entire body. "I'm sorry Ryan! I should never have let it get this far!" Ryan was livid! He didn't even know what to say to Theresa! He instinctively hit the glass vase off the counter and watched it shatter. "Why would you do that Theresa?! Do you have any idea how much pain you caused everyone?!" "I'm sorry Ryan!" Theresa repeated, "I had to get you back here!! You can't just run away and forget everything that you came from! This is your home!! The first people with money who came into your life took you in and you completely wrote of your past! Marissa doesn't deserve you! I need you here with me! Please Ryan, I'm so sorry!" Theresa was holding herself up against the counter, crying hysterically.  
Eddy backed into the background. "I think I'm going to get going" he said softly, aware that nobody heard him.  
Ryan watched Theresa with a mixture of pity, confusion, and disgust. Ryan shook his head violently. "Theresa, I am not here for you! I thought you were pregnant! That is the only reason I came here! I want to be with Marissa! You don't even know what she's been through! I was in the best relationship I've ever had with anybody, and you tore me away from that! Do you even realize what you've done?!"  
Theresa didn't answer Ryan, she just continued to cry and apologize.  
  
Now all Ryan was thinking about was how he had to get back to Marissa. "I've gotta go," he said harshly to Theresa.  
"Ryan no! You can't go! Please don't leave me here! I have nothing!" Theresa begged Ryan to stay, but Ryan couldn't even look at her. He had never felt such anger, and confusion, as he was feeling now. She had screwed up everything! Ryan pulled his arm away from Theresa. He had to get away from this place, but he had no idea how to get home. Theresa had driven him here and if he took her car, then she would have to come get it, and he didn't ever want to see her again. Ryan started to run down the street. He needed to find a pay phone! He ran a couple of blocks before reaching a 7-11. He raced to the sidewalk and thrust his hand into his pocket to find a quarter. Ryan searched his pocket frantically for some kind of coin. Instead, he found a crumpled envelope that somebody had slipped into his pocket. Ryan opened up the envelope and was surprised to see a fat wad of twenty dollar bills and a note.  
  
Ryan, Good luck with everything in Chino. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye. You were my first real friend and I didn't know how to say goodbye to that. Before you showed up, I couldn't survive in Newport. You'd better visit, like all the time. Thanks for everything, I hope you and Theresa are adjusting well.  
Seth Ryan didn't even have time to think about the letter, instead he snatched one of the twenties and went inside to get change. He ran out a minute later and frantically dialed Marissa's number. "Come on Marissa, pick up!" Ryan muttered to himself. He waited until he got her machine. He then dialed the Cohen's number figuring he would talk to Marissa as soon as he got home. When nobody from the Cohen house answered either, Ryan slammed the phone down in frustration. He sighed and closed his eyes as he tried to remember one last number...  
  
Summer was lying on her bed watching reruns of the Valley when her phone rang. She rolled over to answer it slowly, expecting it to be Holly or somebody telling her about a party. She finally answered, "Hello?" "Summer? It's Ryan." "Ryan?! What are you doing? How's Theresa?" Summer asked, curious as to why Ryan was calling her. Ryan laughed bitterly, "Theresa? Oh, she's fine...considering she's not pregnant!" "What?!" "Yeah, Theresa lied to me to get me back, she isn't pregnant and Eddy never hit her!" "Oh my God!" Summer exclaimed! "Yeah, but the reason I called is, I need somebody to pick me up! Marissa and the Cohen's are both not home. I'm actually a little surprised that you're home. I need to get back and apologize to Marissa!" Summer frowned to herself. She didn't want to drop the bad news on Ryan now, when he was all alone. Instead she said, "Yeah, no problem Ryan, I'll leave right now!"  
  
Summer pulled up in her dad's convertible an hour and a half later. "how are you doing?" she asked gently. Ryan sighed, "I just can't believe it was all a lie, I mean, I've known Theresa my whole life! Now I just can't wait to get home, to the Cohens. I have to talk to Marissa. Summer shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Yeah, um, Ryan? There's actually something I've got to tell you." Ryan looked expectantly at Summer, knowing that it was not good news. Summer continued, "It's going to be hard to talk to Marissa, seeing as she's gone for the whole summer. Seth is too. They sailed to Tahiti together, I guess that was their way of coping with you leaving." Ryan looked stunned for a minute while he contemplated that. Marissa and Seth? Together on a boat for the entire summer? Ryan couldn't believe it! "How did you find out?" "They both wrote me letters, apparently, Seth was planning to go by himself, but then Marissa showed up and demanded to go with him. Something about clearing their heads and not being around Newport."  
Ryan nodded his head slowly, understanding, yet becoming sick at the thought of being without his two best friends. Marissa and Seth are what made Newport a home for Ryan. "When did they leave?" "Well, I got the letter yesterday morning, so I think they left right before that." "So they couldn't have gotten that far?" Ryan said slowly looking at Summer. Summer began to smile, "No, they probably couldn't have gotten far at all. You know, nobody knows Marissa and Seth better than the two of us, if we worked together, we could probably figure out where they are and stop them! Its pointless for all four of us to have a terrible summer!"  
Ryan grinned at Summer, "Absolutely! We can start mapping things out as soon as we get to the Cohens."  
Summer put the pedal to the floor and the two sped away to try and find their friends. 


	10. The Green Lantern

Thanks for the reviews! DON'T WORRY ABOUT SM AND RS! THAT WOULD BE GROSS!! I don't own O.C or Green Lantern. These chapters are a little more coincidental than I would like...but I can't figure out a good way to reunite the four.  
  
Chapter 10 – The Green Lantern  
  
Summer and Ryan reached Newport in about half the time it took Summer to drive to Chino. They braked in the Cohen's driveway and rushed inside. It had been a quiet car ride home, Summer and Ryan were both thinking about other people. Ryan slammed the Cohen's door behind him and Sandy and Kirsten jumped in the kitchen!  
"Ryan!" Kirsten shouted happily!  
"And Summer?!" Sandy included. "What are you guys doing here?"  
"Ok" started Ryan, "I'm going to give you the short story because were in a hurry. Basically, Theresa was lying about the baby so she could get me back. Once I found that out I called Summer to pick me up and found out that Seth and Marissa had gone to Tahiti. But, the only reason that they went to Tahiti was because I left, so now that I'm back we are going to go find them!" Ryan and Summer left the kitchen and went to Seth's bedroom leaving Kirsten and Sandy stunned in the kitchen.  
  
"So how much did you know about Seth's plan to go to Tahiti?" Ryan asked Summer.  
"Not much, he mentioned that he wanted to spend two weeks in Tahiti and 'soak it up' something. Oh, and he said that he wanted to visit this place, but I can't remember what it was."  
"That's great Summer." Ryan said sarcastically.  
"What do you expect? He was talking during The Valley! Plus, apparently, you know him better than I do Chino....so shut up!" Summer hit Ryan playfully and smiled. Ryan started rummaging through the clutter of things in Seth's desk. He ruffled through CDs, records, comic books, and Magic cards, until he found a drawer that was devoted to Tahiti! Ryan was shocked with his luck and didn't know that Seth had this planned for so long. Ryan pulled out a map first and read that Tahiti was about 320 miles from Newport. "Ok, Seth mentioned to me that it would take him about 42 days to make a round trip." Summer interrupted him, "So, 42 minus 14, because he wanted to spend two weeks in Tahiti. So that's 28, so divide that by two and that's 14. So, it will take him approximately 14 days to sail 320 miles, so that's.....about 23 miles a day, and they've been gone for two and a half days, which means they've sailed 57.5 miles." Ryan stared at Summer blankly. "What?!" Summer asked. "Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I'm stupid Chino!" Ryan broke into a smile, "Ok! Sorry!" Ryan looked on the map he pointed to a small cluster of islands, "According to your math tomorrow night, they'll spend the night on this island." Ryan looked up at Summer and smiled, "I think were actually going to find them."  
Summer sighed and collapsed onto Seth's bed. "So" Ryan started, "What are you going to do when we find them?" "Before or after I kick Seth's ass for leaving me here alone?" Ryan grinned, "Hey you can't be mad...I mean, I left, and I'm hard to get over!" Summer rolled her eyes and hit Ryan in the stomach, "You're starting to sound like Cohen. I love him, but one Seth is plenty." Ryan smiled but was quiet for a minute, "You love him?" Summer was silent, but she nodded. "A lot." She whispered.  
  
Seth and Marissa were sitting on opposite sides of Summer Breeze. Seth was flipping through Marissa's CD case, and Marissa was braiding Captain Oats' mane. It had been quite for a long time now; Marissa and Seth were both content. Marissa eventually broke the silence, "What are you going to do when we get back to Newport? With Summer I mean." Seth didn't look up, "Before or after she kicks my ass for leaving her?" Marissa broke into a smile, "How mad do you think she's going to be?" "See, I can handle her being mad, because I can woo her. I'm an excellent wooer. I just hope she understands." Marissa nodded and continued on Captain Oats' mane. "Seth?" "Hm." "Why Tahiti? I mean, of all the places, why Tahiti?" Once again, Seth didn't look up, "Series 1 volume 12 of 'The Green Lantern.' You see, his power bar was so low, that he had no chance of defeating his arch nemesis, so he escaped to his secret lab in Tahiti to refill and enhance his abilities." Marissa rolled her eyes, "Do you mean to tell me that this whole escape for you was based on a comic book?" Seth sighed and looked up at Marissa, "Marissa, think on different levels! 'The Green Lantern' was my metaphor of life! Harbor and Newport are my arch nemesis, and with Ryan gone, it's like my power bar is empty. I need to get away for a little while, and refill." Seth expected Marissa to bust out laughing, but she remained quiet. "Was I a nemesis of yours?" Seth smiled, "You and Luke were 'The Penguin' and 'Cat Woman' in my world. You two represented everything I wasn't, everything that I couldn't be a part of, and everybody who ignored me." Marissa looked down, "I'm sorry Seth." "It's ok. I'm happy with everything now. You and Summer have both changed." Marissa smiled and they became silent again.  
  
"Ok," Ryan said. "How are we going to get to this island? It's too small to fly to, but if we sail there then we won't catch up." Summer shrugged, "It's no problem, my dad has his own helicopter because he travels so much. This week, he's only in San Diego, so he drove. That means that the 'copter's available." 


	11. Lost and found

Hey guys, sorry its taken so long. As always, thanks for the reviews. Not much more left! ( I don't own them, oh, except for Nicholas....but you can steal him if you want, just a minor character.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Summer and Ryan jumped into Summer's car quickly and sped to Summer's house. Once they got there, Summer led the way to the kitchen where there was a list of names and phone numbers on the fridge.  
"What are all these names?" asked Ryan curiously, scanning the list.  
"Oh, those are all the people who work for us." Summer pointed to the fifth person down on the list, "That's Nicholas, he's my dad's pilot."  
Ryan stood stunned, "All of these people work for you guys?"  
"Yes," Summer answered impatiently, "The first two are the maids, then our caterer, the pool guy, my dad's personal trainer, and I'm not sure who the rest are. Now close your mouth Chino. We've got stuff to do!"  
Ryan shook his head and followed Summer.  
  
The sun was lowering in the sky, and Seth and Marissa were preparing to bring Summer Breeze in for the night. They sailed to the coast of a small island, according to one of Seth's maps. The sea had become silent and the only sounds that could be heard was the bickering between Seth and Marissa.  
"Are you even listening to yourself?!" Seth yelled at Marissa.  
"Yes! You must be disturbed! Ben Folds clearly improved his music by dropping the band!" Marissa shouted back.  
"Hah! The band behind him developed him into what kind of music he made! He sold out by dropping the rest of the guys!"  
"Ok, the band did help him develop his music, but now that he's got that down, they were holding him back!"  
"Please, Ben Folds dropping the Five is almost as bad as the plan to remake the Goonies."  
"You don't think that the remake is gonna be good?"  
"Ok, you are no longer worthy to argue with me if you think that the Goonies remake is a good idea."  
"Oh my God Seth, you are so wrong." With that, Marissa shoved Seth into the shallow water near the shore. Seth swam under the boat and grabbed Marissa and pulled her in from the other side. Marissa screamed and splashed Seth and then slowly trudged on shore.  
  
"Hey Nicholas? This is Summer. Do you think you could give me and a friend a lift to visit a friend?" Summer nodded, "Yeah, they are um...vacationing on a small island not too far from the coast. They know were coming. Please please puh-lease Nick!" Summer squealed, "Thank you so much! We'll see you at 8."  
Ryan shook his head and smiled as Summer hung up the phone. "Do you always get what you want?"  
Summer smiled, "If we find Coop and Cohen, then yes, I do."  
"This look like a good place to camp?" Seth asked Marissa lying down their stuff.  
"You mean, as opposed to anywhere else on this beach, where everything looks exactly the same?"  
Seth laughed sarcastically, "Oh Marissa, I knew there was a reason you came....you're humor!"  
Marissa rolled her eyes and laid back in the sand. "Seth, are you sure were allowed to be here? What if this isn't a public island?"  
"They all are. It's legal to sleep on the beach. I googled it."  
"Oh, well if you googled it..." Marissa closed her eyes peacefully. "I don't know why I'm so tired. All we did was sit in a boat all day."  
"You ready to turn in?" asked Seth as he pulled out two damp blankets from Summer Breeze's cargo."  
Marissa nodded, "Oh and Seth?"  
"Yeah?"  
"The Goonies remake is going to turn on a whole new audience to this genre of movies!"  
Seth sat up and began to angrily debate with Marissa.  
  
"So do you think you can do it Nicholas?!" Summer asked hopefully as she watched Nicholas scan her map and plot out the circled island.  
"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem, I think I've even flown there before. You said you have friends vacationing there?"  
Summer nervously glanced at Ryan, "Yes?" she answered unsure of why Nicholas sounded skeptical.  
"Summer, I've known you since you were a baby. Lets try that again. Why are you going to this island?"  
Summer sighed, "Nick, our two best friends sailed there because Ryan left. Ryan came back, and found me, and we need to get them back! This is the summer before senior year! We need them!"  
Nicholas looked at Ryan who nodded, and then rolled his eyes and reached in his pocket. "Summer, here is my number, you call me if anything happens, plus, here's some cash. You're dad can pay me back. But, my only concern is, are you sure you want to go in the night?"  
Summer nodded eagerly, and then she and Ryan broke into smiles and Summer began, "Thank you SO much Nick! When do you think we can leave?"  
Nicholas looked at the map again. "It should only be like, a 30 minute flight, so why don't you give me an hour to plan our route and think about how a 17 year old girl got me wrapped so tightly around her finger."  
Summer smiled, "Thanks so much Nick!!"  
"Ah yes, that's how." Nicholas replied shooing Ryan and Summer off to the other room as he went into the kitchen.  
  
"Chino, I'm just going to grab some things from my room, you can help me decide what to bring."  
Ryan entered Summer's room cautiously, but he wasn't sure why. "Summer, what's going to happen if we find them?"  
Summer shrugged, "I don't really care. I just want to find them. I mean, the only reason they left is because you did, so now that you're back, they should have no reason not to come home."  
Ryan nodded slowly, "but what if, I mean, what if they are having a good time? I mean, I don't think that Marissa or Seth would be too eager to return to Newport."  
Summer threw down the sunglasses she was putting in a bag and marched up to Ryan, "Don't tell me you're wimping out on me Chino. I will go without you if I have to, but to be honest, it would be more fun to go with you." Summer went back to packing her things. "Plus, its ridiculous to assume that they could be having fun. I'm not there am I?"  
Ryan rolled his eyes, "I swear Summer, you are getting to be more like Seth all the time."  
"Yeah, it rubs off."  
  
Seth stirred in his sleep. He sat up groggily, "God, Marissa sure is a snorer, huh?" he asked Captain Oats who was nestled between himself and Marissa. Seth checked his watch, it really wasn't even that late. It was only a little after midnight. Seth got up and stretched his legs. He looked down at Captain oats who also, was awake. "I know buddy, I should have asked you if you were ready to leave Princess Sparkle. You guys seemed pretty attached." Seth walked down to the shore and sat with his feet in the water. He once again let his mind wonder.  
  
Ryan carried Summer's enormous bag to the car while she struggled with another one. "Summer, I'm putting my foot down. You have to pick a bag. You only get one, this is ridiculous!"  
"Ryan, I'll put my foot somewhere else, if you don't shut up and help me."  
"Wow, Seth wasn't kidding about those rage black outs." Ryan muttered as he helped Summer with her second bag.  
"Cohen says I need no embellishment." The ride to the garage where the helicopter was only a few miles and they once again struggled to get Summer's bags out of the car. Nicholas pointed to the stairs. "You guys have to go wait on the roof, I'll be up with the chopper in a few minutes."  
"Stairs..." Ryan muttered as he fought the battle against Summer's luggage.  
"Fine Chino, you win. I guess I only need this one." Summer pointed to one of the bags and let Ryan put the other back in her car.  
Ryan and Summer walked up the stairs to the roof and waited patiently for Nicholas to arrive. They heard the helicopter before they saw it. It pounded their ear drums to the core and then they began to feel the wind of it. Summer pulled on Ryan's shirt, motioning that they had to crotch down. As the helicopter landed the two wearily climbed into the back seat and prepared for it to take off. As the helicopter began lifting in the sky, Ryan and Summer both stared out their windows, if Newport was pretty usually, it was nothing compared to what it looked like from above.  
The flight was pretty quiet, except for the ear shattering drone of the blades cutting through the air. After about 25 minutes, Nicholas turned on his headset and began talking with Summer. "Summer, this is it. I'm going to fly down a little bit and see if we can see your friends anywhere."  
Summer looked out the window, "This is the island?" She shouted to Ryan, "but it looks so big! It didn't look this big on the map!"  
"Summer..." Ryan started, but Summer cut him off, "Yeah, I know, that was stupid shut up."  
Ryan chuckled and looked out his window. He heard Nicholas's voice in his earphones again, "You guys think that they would be by the shore right?" Ryan confirmed and then they began to circle the island, looking for their friends.  
  
"What the hell?" asked Seth out loud as he saw a helicopter flying very low. "What is going on?" The helicopter was now low enough so that he could feel the wind from it. It was causing a huge racket, and Seth looked over to Marissa who amazing, was still asleep.  
  
"Oh my God!" Summer exclaimed, "There they are!!" She tugged on Ryan's sleeve excitedly, "Nicholas, can you land here?!"  
Ryan quickly turned his headset on and said, "No Nicholas, can you land maybe a mile or so down?"  
"Aren't these your friends though?" asked Nicholas confused.  
"Yeah, but I think it would be a whole lot more fun if they didn't know we were here."  
Summer smiled and said, "Yeah, can you take us about a mile down?" 


	12. The Final Frontier, or is it?

Ok, guys....don't freak out or anything....but this is the last chapter. I know, I know...bittersweet. But.....the good news is, this was only my first story! I'll have many more. Most of them will be the same couples, because I LOVE SS and RM is just a given. I promise that if people keep reading and reviewing...I'll keep the magic flowing! Oh oh... look for the sequel to this! It'll come out soon, as soon as I figure what it should be about. Remember, my name is liz88zil. I own nothing. Please review!  
  
Chapter 12 – The final frontier, or is it...  
  
Seth watched the helicopter with fascination, but then lost interest as it began to turn around. He could tell that it was still close to the island, but as the helicopter disappeared from sight, he let his mind return to Ryan and Summer. "What do you think they're doing now?" he asked Captain Oats. "Summer's probably at a party, and I'm probably the last thing on her mind." Seth looked down at Captain Oats and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I guess it could be worse than being here with that bag of noise." He said as he pointed to Marissa. "I mean, I could be in Ryan's shoes right now...buying Huggies." Seth sat back down and laid his head slowly on the sand, with his legs still in the water. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of complete relaxation.  
  
Summer and Ryan saw Seth from a distance, and began to slowly creep towards him. "Hey," Summer whispered, "Why don't you go wake Marissa up however you want to, I'm going to have some fun here." Ryan smiled and nodded, sounds good. "Hey Summer?" "Yeah?" "I'm glad that Marissa and Seth were gone when I got back." "Why?" "This was a lot of fun." Summer smiled and then rolled her eyes. "Oh Chino!" Summer continued to walk slowly towards Seth.  
  
Sleep was just beginning to take a hold of Seth when all of a sudden a heavy mass of Sand fell straight on his face. He inhaled some instinctively and then sat up and began to cough it out.  
"That is for trying to desert me for the whole summer!" Summer said angrily, but trying not to laugh.  
Seth whipped around, shaking the sand out of his hair. "Summer?! How...when..how did you get here?"  
"Oh you know..." Summer started casually, "I just dropped in a little while ago. Cohen.." Summer started as she pointed to where Ryan stood watching them reunite.  
"Ryan? Why aren't you in Chino?!"  
"It's a long story man, but the short version Is that Theresa's not pregnant, and so I came back to find you guys...but..., well you know the rest."  
"Can't say that I do..." Seth said slowly, trying to process all of this excitement.  
"Cohen, I'll answer all questions later, but I haven't seen you for like...four days, so..." Summer down next to Seth and kissed him slowly.  
Seth broke away, "Ryan, that's your cue to leave. Have fun dealing with that." Seth said as he pointed to Marissa.  
"I will" Ryan said as he walked away from the couple.  
  
Ryan approached Marissa slowly, preparing to use a different technique than Summer used. After all, he didn't blame Marissa for leaving, there was no reason to be mad at her. He just hoped that Marissa wasn't too mad at him. Ryan slowly lowered himself down next to Marissa and began to gently brush her hair out of her face.  
"It feels like were still sailing...." Marissa mumbled quietly. Ryan smiled and then began to kiss Marissa on the cheek. Marissa responded slowly turning towards Ryan until their lips met. Just before however, Marissa seemed to realize where she was and she shot up. She hit heads with Ryan hard and he sank back into the sand holding his forehead. Marissa shook her head violently and then opened her eyes again. "Ryan?"  
"Yep, it's me." Ryan confirmed, still rubbing his forehead.  
"Oh my God! What are you doing here?!"  
"Well, I was trying to be sweet, but you have really bad reaction times."  
"No, what are you doing HERE, why aren't you in Chino."  
"That doesn't matter right now. I'm here, and I'm never going back to Chino. I'm sorry I left you Marissa."  
Marissa grinned and leaned in to kiss Ryan. But just before, she noticed Summer making out with Seth. "Oh my God! Summer!" Marissa exclaimed, running towards Summer.  
Summer pulled away urgently from Seth, "Coop!" The two girls hugged each other tightly, "I'm so sorry Sum." Marissa said, "I just needed to be away."  
"I know, I know." Summer pulled Marissa even tighter, "just don't ever do it again."  
"Ok." Marissa promised as she pulled away from Summer.  
Ryan and Seth both walked up next to the girls.  
"So," Seth started, "What should we do now?"  
"Well, I want to know how you two got here!"  
"Well, It's a long trip back to Newport, we'll tell you on the way."  
"Ok." Marissa nodded. Well, I'm not tired anymore...should we leave now?"  
Seth and Summer shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."  
"There is no reason to put Maryether of any longer."  
"Actually," Ryan began, grabbing the attention of the other three, "Were already on our way to Tahiti right? And that's where Seth's parents think we are anyways...."  
Summer, Seth and Marissa all slowly began to grin.  
"Maryethmer doesn't happen in a specific location anyways right?" asked Summer.  
"Plus, who wants to go back to Newport?" added Marissa. Everybody looked at Seth hopefully, wanting his permission to intrude on his private vacation. Seth hesitated, just to dramatize the whole situation, but then rolled his eyes and nodded, "Of course guys. This is going to rock! Oh wait, I forgot about somebody! I mean were all going to have each other, but..." he slowly pointed to Captain Oats on the ground. "Wait a minute" Summer exclaimed, breaking from the group and coming back shortly. She also paused, before whipping out Princess Sparkle from behind her. Seth pulled Summer close to her, and Ryan followed his lead with Marissa. The four stood together for a minute, before starting to gather up all of their things.  
"Summer, you're going to sink Summer Breeze with this thing!" Seth exclaimed trying to lift her suitcase.  
"Cohen, you just tried to ditch me for the entire summer!"  
"Got it." Seth said as Ryan helped him load the suitcase into the boat. The four climbed onto the now extremely crowded boat, but they couldn't have been happier. These three couples weren't exactly worried about not having much room. "So," Marisa began, "Why don't you start from the beginning." Ryan began to tell the story of what happened to him in Chino. Laughter filled the open sea air as Summer Breeze sailed into the rising sun.  
  
That's all folks. Stay tuned for the sequel. Everything goes wrong in Tahiti. This is the O.C., of course there will be drama. 


End file.
